Book-Learning

Good to see the Air Force is taking the problem of sexual assault in its ranks seriously. It has been in the news lately, unfortunately, after dozens of female trainees at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio alleged they had been assaulted by their male instructors.

Last month, an instructor was sentenced to 20 years in prison after his conviction of raping one recruit and sexually assaulting several others. At least a dozen have been under investigation, and six have been charged with crimes including rape and adultery. Last Friday, the Air Force removed the colonel in charge of the service’s basic training from command.

“We are leaving no stone unturned,” General Edward Rice, Jr., commander of Air Education and Training Command, pledged at the Pentagon in June. “I’m not minimizing this investigation. In fact, I’m being as aggressive as I can. And we won’t stop the investigation until I’m completely satisfied that we’ve done as thorough a job as we possibly can.”

No kidding. Check out this list of textbooks the Air Force’s Special Investigations Academy – bet you didn’t even know it existed — wants to buy.

Thus far the department of defense has failed to do the one concrete thing it can do to bring immediate, tangible relief to sexual assault victims: change the security clearance form to exempt sexual assault counseling from reporting on the form. This tells me that the DoD is clearly more interested in appearing to help victims than actually helping them heal. To sum up: if I have PTSD from combat, I don't have to report counseling. If I have PTSD from rape, I do have to report counseling to get a security clearance. What do you think is the # 1 cause of PTSD in men and what is the #1 cause of PTSD in women?